Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY

(7th Ed)

Chapter 17

Therapy

James A. McCubbin, PhDClemson University

Worth Publishers

Fact vs. Falsehood 1. “Psychoanalysis” is another word for “psychotherapy.” 2. Regardless of their theoretical orientation, therapists agree that

self-awareness is the key to overcoming psychological problems. 3. Group therapy is used primarily because it saves time and

money. 4. Most people who suffer psychological problems become worse

without therapy. 5. Research suggests that the alternative therapy of “therapeutic

touch” seems to be particularly effective in treating feelings of loneliness.

6. The training and experience of the therapist is a crucial factor in determining therapeutic success.

7. The various therapies are so different that is impossible to find any commonalities.

8. The use of drugs has enabled thousands of schizophrenic patients who had been hospitalized to return to near-normal lives.

9. Many people have found relief from manic-depressive mood swings with a daily dose of cheap salt.

10. Electroconvulsive therapy is no longer used in the treatment of psychosocial disorders.

History of Treatment

Dorothea Dix and Philippe Pinel

Therapy

Psychotherapy an emotionally charged, confiding

interaction between a trained therapist and someone who suffers from psychological difficulties

Eclectic Approach an approach to psychotherapy that,

depending on the client’s problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy

Psychoanalysis (Freud)

Aims: bring repressed feelings to light and deal with them “know thyself”

Methods: Free association Resistance

blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material Editting, forgetting, going “blank”

Interpretation the analyst’s noting supposed dream meanings, resistances,

and other significant behaviors in order to promote insight Transference

the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships

Psychoanalysis

Psychdynamic Theory Probe the patients’ history looking for

incidents of repression Interpersonal psychotherapy is more

brief and often provided immediate relief

Humanistic (Rogers)

Focus: present and future, consciousness, responsibility, and promoting growth

Techniques Client-Centered Therapy genuine, accepting, empathic

environment to facilitate clients’ growth Active Listening

Humanistic Therapy Active Listening-empathic listening in

which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies

Behaviortherapy :applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors

Classical Conditioning Techniques Counterconditioning procedure that conditions new responses

to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors includes systematic desensitization,

exposoure therapy, progressive relaxation, virtual reality exposure conditioning and aversive conditioning

Behavior Therapy Exposure Therapy

treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or reality) to the things they fear and avoid

Behavior Therapy Systematic Desensitization

type of counterconditioning associates a pleasant, relaxed state with

gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli

commonly used to treat phobias Aversive Conditioning

type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior

nausea ---> alcohol

Behavior Therapy Systematic Desensitization

Behavior Therapy

Aversion therapy for alcoholics

Behavior Therapy

Operant Conditioning Token Economy

an operant conditioning procedure that rewards desired behavior

patient exchanges a token of some sort, earned for exhibiting the desired behavior, for various privileges or treats

Behavior Modification Critics:

What happens when actions are no longer reinforced

Is it ethical to change another’s behavior?

Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive Therapy teaches people new, more adaptive

ways of thinking and acting based on the assumption that

thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions

For depression often works because they lack self-serving bias

Cognitive Therapy

The Cognitive Revolution

Cognitive Therapy

A cognitive perspective on psychological disorders

Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive therapy for depression

Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapya popular integrated therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

Group and Family Therapies

Family Therapy treats the family as a system views an individual’s unwanted

behaviors as influenced by or directed at other family members

attempts to guide family members toward positive relationships and improved communication

Groups often cost less

Evaluating Psychotherapies

To whom do people turn for help for psychological difficulties?

Client and Clinician’s Perspectives

Clients: Enter during/in crisis May need to believe

it was worth the effort

Generally like their therapists and speak well of them.

No real control group

Clinicians Don’t keep track of

failures Most see failures of

other therapists

Evaluating Psychotherapies

Regression toward the mean tendency for extremes of unusual scores to fall

back (regress) toward their average Placebo and belief tend toward this as well

Meta-analysis procedure for statistically combining the results

of many different research studies Prove: therapy makes improvement more likely Sometimes it’s not permanent Therapy is most effective if the problem is clear

cut

Evaluating Psychotherapies

Poor outcome Good outcome

Averageuntreated

person

Averagepsychotherapy

client

Number ofpersons

80% of untreated people have pooreroutcomes than average treated person

The Relative Effectiveness of Different Therapies

Depression – cognitive, interpersonal and behavioral

Anxiety – cognitive, exposure and stress inoculation

Bulimia – cognitive-behavioral

Erenesis – behavrio modification

Alternative Therapies: Therapeutic touch “pushing

energy fields into balance” is unproven

EMDR (Eye movement desensitization & reprocessing)

Short sessions of activiting eye movement

Critics: exposre and placebo Light Exposure Therapy

Treat SAD works

Evaluating Psychotherapies

Commonalities Among Psychotherapies

Hope for demoralized people Belief placebo

A new perspective often equals a new attitude

An empathis, trusting, caring relationship If the therapist is good, it doesn’t matter

what style

Biomedical Therapies

Psychopharmacology (study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior)

Antipsychotic Drugs Dampen responsiveness to irrelavaent stimuli or awaken Mimic dopamine Lots of side effects

Antianxiety Drugs Depress central nervous system Some peole use in conjuction with therapy

Antidepressants Increase availabilitly of norephinephrine or seratonin Lithium is used to balance those with bipolar disorder SSRIs are very popular

They take time to get into your system Therapy and exercise also help Not much difference when placebo is used

Biomedical Therapies The emptying of U.S. mental hospitals

Biomedical Therapies

Biomedical Therapies

Biomedical Therapies Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient

Psychosurgery surgery that removes or destroys brain

tissue in an effort to change behavior lobotomy

now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients

Electroconvulsive Therapy